Elsevier

Behavior Therapy

Volume 40, Issue 3, September 2009, Pages 272-279
Behavior Therapy

Acceptance of Structured Diagnostic Interviews for Mental Disorders in Clinical Practice and Research Settings

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2008.07.002Get rights and content

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the acceptance of structured diagnostic interviews in clinical practice, as well as research, settings. Using the Diagnostisches Interview bei Psychischen Störungen (the modified and extended German version of the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM-IV), 10 certified interviewers conducted 183 structured interviews in different inpatient, outpatient, and research settings in Switzerland and Germany. After each interview, patients and interviewers filled out a questionnaire asking for their evaluation of the interview. Patients' and interviewers' reactions to the interview were highly positive. On a scale measuring overall satisfaction with the interview (0 = not at all satisfied, 100 = totally satisfied) the mean patient rating was 86.55 (SD = 13.18), and the mean interviewer rating was 85.82 (SD = 12.84). The procedure used by the interviewer was rated by 142 (78.5%) patients as being helpful, and 176 (96.7%) rated the relationship as being positive. Less than 16% of the interviews were described as exhausting by the patients and interviewers. A majority of the interviewers (92.6%) indicated that during the interview they could respond adequately to the patient. The results of this study indicate that structured diagnostic interviews are highly accepted by interviewers and patients in a variety of settings. These findings, together with the existing evidence of the reliability and validity of structured interviews, should encourage their use in the diagnostic process, in outpatient and inpatient clinical settings as well as in research studies.

Section snippets

Study Procedure

The sample was derived from a study of the psychometric properties of the DIPS for DSM-IV-TR. Between January 2005 and October 2005, ten certified interviewers conducted a total of 183 DIPS interviews. After completing the DIPS interviews, all patients and all interviewers completed a self-report questionnaire designed specifically for this study about their satisfaction with the interview. The questionnaire was filled out anonymously, unless help was needed, and put in a coded envelope and

Results

The duration of the diagnostic interview ranged from 17 to 241 min (M = 104.87, SD = 47.72). Eight patients (4%) were unable to complete the interview, because of fatigue as a result of multiple medications or severe psychiatric symptoms. None of the patients or interviewers refused to complete the acceptance questionnaire.

Discussion

The results of this study indicate that patients and interviewers participating in a diagnostic procedure using a structured interview reported high satisfaction with the interview. The overall satisfaction with the structured interview was very high, both for patients and for interviewers, indicating that the DIPS for DSM-IV-TR (Schneider & Margraf, 2006) is well accepted for diagnostic purposes in inpatient, outpatient, and research settings. These data corroborate findings of previous

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of Professor Franz Müller-Spahn, Ph.D. (Department of Psychiatry, University of Basel), Sascha Wendler, Ph.D. (Clinic Nexus, Baden-Baden), and Dr. Klaus Bader (Outpatient Clinic for Behavior Therapy, University of Basel).

This research was funded by the Freiwillige Akademische Gesellschaft (DPE2020).

References (17)

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Andrea Suppiger and Tina In-Albon contributed equally to the research reported in this manuscript.

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